sel et sucre

Temporary Hiatus

Claire — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:00:20 +0000

As you may know from reading this blog, I’m currently living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The move here five months ago was a difficult but exciting experience, and I’ve made a point to keep updating this blog for as long as possible. Now, however, I’m embarking on a new leg of my journey and will be traveling all around South and Central America as I make my way back to the United States over the next six months. Sadly, this means that I’ll be sending back my cooking supplies and digital SLR and putting Sel et Sucre on a temporary hiatus.… Read the rest

Quinoa, Beet, and Black Bean Burgers

Claire — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:00:51 +0000

Once again, I’m playing host here in Buenos Aires (this time, to Andrew’s parents instead of mine). And, although it’s easy for people to eat out for every meal when on vacation, I think there’s nothing like a home-cooked meal after a long plane ride or a day of sight-seeing. These quinoa, beet, and black bean burgers are more complicated than many bean burgers, but the different components can be cooked ahead of time, and the mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week before being formed into patties. This makes them ideal for serving to guests – I did all the legwork ahead of time and just had to fry up some patties and toast some buns to have dinner on the table.

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Turkish White Bean Dip

Claire — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:00:17 +0000

Having healthy snacks on hand is probably the most important piece of eating well. I definitely have those moments when I need to eat something and now, and that’s when it’s easiest to turn to something that’s not so good for me. Bean dips are one of my favorites to keep around. They require very little preparation, yet are tasty enough to serve to unexpected guests. I don’t have anything to puree with, and I was still able to make this – I just threw everything in a pot and cooked it down a bit, while mashing, which worked pretty well.

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Thai Pumpkin and Salmon Red Curry

Claire — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:00:33 +0000

Pumpkin and salmon might seem like a strange combination, but all doubts will leave your mind once you taste this curry. I first had this curry at Thai X-ing, an amazing DC restaurant, where it was one of a variety of courses on their set menu. While everything there was delicious, this dish in particular stood out and still comes to mind (I spend a lot of time thinking about food). The tender and sweet pumpkin melts into the spicy, creamy, curry sauce, thickening it, and the salmon adds another dimension of richness. This version captured my memory of the dish well and was far easier than I thought it would be to throw together.

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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Claire — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:00:08 +0000

Can we talk about all the things I love about this recipe? Since there’s no flour, it’s great for gluten-free folks, and there’s also no worry if you’ve run out of flour in your cabinet (or butter, for that matter). Another perk of the lack of flour is that you don’t have to worry about overworking the dough. This means that you can taste and adjust the quantities of peanut butter, sugar, and salt, if you’d like (so long as you don’t mind raw egg – or taste before adding the egg), so it’d be easy to practically just eyeball the recipe (not something a lot of baked goods can claim).

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Thai Chicken Satay

Claire — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:00:10 +0000

The combination of flavors in the marinade here seemed strange to me at first (coconut, turmeric, sugar, and coriander?), but I decided to roll with it because I really trust the recipe source (the great She Simmers which not only has fantastic authentic Thai recipes but also appeals to the linguistics nerd in me with the lovely accompanying information on Thai pronunciation and etymology). I’m glad I did because this chicken satay was very easy to make, and the result was delicious on its own and completely addictive when served with peanut sauce and ajat. This would be great food for a party, especially if you get the grill going to cook the chicken on skewers (the traditional way).

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Ajat (Thai Quick Pickle)

Claire — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:00:15 +0000

Combine my love of Thai food and my love of pickles, and you have ajat. A traditional Thai condiment that’s really easy and quick to make and pairs perfectly with a variety of Thai dishes – although it’s most notably served alongside satay to balance the richness and greasiness of the grilled meat (or fried tofu) and peanut sauce. The part of this quick pickle that seems ingenious is the preparation of the syrupy pickling liquid separately ahead of time – it’s only poured over the fresh sliced vegetables (cucumber, mild peppers, and shallots) right before serving, so the prep at serving time is minimal, and the veggies stay nice, bright, and crisp.

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Thai Peanut Sauce

Claire — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:00:00 +0000

I’ve long been enamored of Thai food, and that’s probably no surprise since it’s right up my alley in many ways – strong, bold flavors with no fear of spice, often filled with fresh vegetables and herbs, and, of course, delicious salty-sweet combinations. This sauce is a perfect example. It’s packed with flavor from a generous helping of Thai red curry paste, and the savory richness of peanut butter is well-balanced by sugar. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s also ridiculously simple to make and addictively tasty. The sauce can be thinned out with extra vinegar for a salad dressing, or used as is for dipping raw veggies.

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Tropical Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Claire — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:00:20 +0000

Inspired by the coconut breakfast quinoa I recently cooked up, I decided to try a savory preparation using quinoa cooked with coconut milk. I added black beans for extra substance and played off the tropical flavor of the coconut with mango, avocado, fresh mint, and lime juice. The resulting salad was colorful and delicious (not to mention healthy) – perfect for serving my parents for dinner at the end of a hot day of sightseeing.

Tropical Black Bean Quinoa Salad
Yield: amount made

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups cooked black beans (or 2 (15-ounce) cans, drained and rinsed)
2 mangoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 – 2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2″ piece ginger, minced
1/4 cup mint, finely chopped
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chile powder*
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp honey (optional)
salt, to taste

*Any pure ground chiles – I used a mix of guajillo and arbol.

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Coconut Breakfast Quinoa

Claire — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:00:22 +0000

My parents are here visiting me in Buenos Aires, so it’s been a whirlwind taking them around to all the best sights and restaurants (and it’s also the reason why I didn’t post on Friday – whoops!). They get breakfast at their hotel though, so I’m on my own for fixing breakfast. Something quick and easy but healthy and filling is important to have enough energy to get me through until lunch with all the sight-seeing, and this coconut breakfast quinoa has been a great option. Coconut milk adds richness to the quinoa, which is similar to oatmeal in this preparation (not that I’ve given up on my favorite steel-cut oats), but with the added boost of quinoa’s higher fiber and protein – even more so if you include the optional chia seeds.

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